Welcome back to CHS Chats! Volume eight continues with Mr. Dunn, one of the CHS Science teachers. At the start of 2016-2017, Mr. Dunn started teaching at Carterville High School. Mr. Dunn was really nervous at first but got over it and set his goals for the following year. After Mr. Dunn’s first year, he continued to teach at Carterville High School and is currently on his sixth year of teaching.

Mr. Dunn teaches Advanced Biology, Ecology, Zoology, and Anatomy. He has a lot of fun teaching these different subjects. “I love teaching a variety of subjects to my students. They’re all a lot of fun to teach, and each of my classes learns something new every day” said Mr. Dunn. Mr. Dunn will no longer teach Ecology following 2021, instead substituting the class for Earth and Space Science, an addition to our school’s science curriculum.

Furthermore, when Mr. Dunn stepped into the building, he knew he was going to have a great time teaching his new students and getting along with the faculty. Mr. Dunn has had a great experience throughout his first few years and explained that it was very welcoming and friendly.

Mr. Dunn has been teaching at Carterville for six years, and many kids have questioned whether he has taught someplace else prior to Carterville, and the answer is yes. Mr. Dunn taught at Thompsonville before coming to Carterville, where he stayed for roughly two years. “Teaching at Thompsonville was a lot of fun; the school didn’t have many kids because the population was so small!” said Mr. Dunn

Mr. Dunn also wanted to explain why he was so interested in becoming a science teacher. “I’ve always had a natural interest and inclination for the subject. I also had a bad experience in my science class throughout high school and wanted to make a difference by performing better for science’s future. People must enjoy it in order to learn it. They must study it in order to gain from it. I want it to be uplifting so that people can and will connect with it outside of the classroom.”

Senior Sidney Lambert stated “Throughout high school, Mr. Dunn has been my advisory teacher and science teacher. He’s always been able to keep up with our advisory as well. Which I found very interesting. In other words, I’ve always enjoyed being in his classroom and having him as a teacher.”

Freshman Lenia Jaimet said “Mr. Dunn has always been one of my favorite teachers so far this year. His style of teaching is amazing and he always finds a way to make our class smile more. His over- top-personality is probably my favorite thing about him. I did not think I was going to find him interesting at first, but I most definitely surprised myself! Overall, he is a very spectacular person I get to learn from every day.”

In general, Mr. Dunn has really made his classroom a safe place to nerd out to science and always has a warm welcoming smile whenever entering his classroom. Additionally, whenever he is explaining a topic, he always makes sure his students understand what he is talking about before moving on to another thing.